Decisions

“Think they’ll be surprised?”  Molly asked her husband.

Kent placed the last travel brochure beneath a linen napkin and nodded.  “I’m sure they will be.”  Looking around he commented, “The table is lovely, dear, and the theme is perfect for our announcement.”

Molly smiled, pleased at his praise, and puckered her lips in a pretend kiss and headed for the kitchen.

“They’re here,” Kent announced, looking out the window in time to see his two sons pull up.

Garrett, the older of the two, got out first, going around the car to open the door for his wife Polly.  Gregory followed suit, chivalrously presenting his elbow for his wife Karin.

Kent opened the door and energetically shook his sons’ hands before embracing them.  He bent his tall frame to receive a loving peck on the cheek from each daughter-in-law as he greeted them.

The girls hung their coats on the hall tree and headed for the kitchen to help Molly finish dinner preparations.

“What’s the theme tonight, Mom?” Karin asked, accustomed to the themed dinner parties.

“African Safari,” she replied cryptically.  “Dinner’s ready,” she called into the family room.

“What’s this?” Garrett asked, retrieving the brochure that fell from his napkin.

“It’s our surprise,” Kent began.  “To celebrate my retirement, we’re taking all of you on an Eco Safari.  We’ve always tried to teach you the importance of stewardship of the planet.  Now we’d like you to see it in action.”

The family spent the next two months preparing for their month-long safari.  Clothing and equipment was unloaded at the baggage department and retrieved at the customs department upon their arrival in Kenya, Africa.  The first night was spent at the Safari Lodge getting to know their guides and fellow-travelers.

“We’ve been on several other tours,” commented Mr. Branson in his Texas drawl.  Gregory returned his hearty handshake.  “Cal me ‘Tex’,” he smiled.

“We’re first-timers,” Gregory admitted.

“You’ll be back, trust me.”

After a good night’s rest, the travelers loaded their equipment into trucks and headed for the trail, stopping along the way to learn about the ecology of the desert and the adaptations of some of its inhabitants.

“Before opening your canteens, let’s try to find water elsewhere,” the guide suggested at lunch. 

“But there’s no water anywhere around here,” Polly stated, confused.

The guide took a pointed stake from his pack and selected a location near a stand of grasses.  His strong arms thrust the stake deep into the sand and wiggled it back and forth, inching it deeper and deeper.  Soon, water bubbled up from the sand.  His bright white teeth stood out in sharp contrast to his dark skin when he smiled and his students.  “There is always water in the desert.  You just need to look for it.”

That evening the group of travelers hiked into the mountains with their heavy packs and set up camp in a level clearing.  They cooked vegetable stew in a wide-mouthed kettle suspended over an open camp fire.

“Tomorrow,” the guide began, “we will venture into the mountains and test the purity of the streams.  We will move on up to our next campsite, where we will check on the regrowth of the forest since the fires of 2003.”

“Sounds like a full day,” Tex yawned.  “I’m gonna hit the sack.”

Kent smiled at his sons.  “I’m so glad we are getting to spend this time together.”

“Me, too, Dad,” Gregory answered.  Garrett nodded his agreement as he sipped a final cup of coffee.

“I think I’ll turn in,” Molly said, gesturing for her daughter-in-laws to follow.

Kent cleared his throat and his voice took a serious tone.  “Boys, I’ve been thinking…we love to travel and there are so many places we’d like to see and learn about.  The reason we chose this trip was to see what was involved, what lessons were taught about ecology, environment, preservation, and conservation.  Now that I’ve retired, I have more time to spend doing the things I want to do.”

“What are you saying, Dad?  You and Mom are going to move to Africa and run an EcoSafari business?”  Garrett raised an eyebrow.

Kent chuckled and put a strong hand on his son’s shoulder.  “Not at all, Son.  We’d start closer to home, in an environment we are familiar with, traveling around our state, first, and then the country, learning about the environment, the ecology of the land we live in, and how every person we share it with could contribute to the preservation and conservation of the resources we have.”

“Sounds like a fun way to spend your retirement…and our inheritance,” Gregory quipped with a playful grin.

“You don’t need our permission,” Garrett reassured his father.  “If that’s what you and Mom want to do, we’re behind you all the way.”

“We were hoping maybe you’d be with us all the way…” 

“You’re asking us to join you?”

“It was an idea we were kicking around,” Kent admitted hopefully.  “With your knowledge of biology and horticulture and all of the other sciences you took, we’d make a great team.

“That’s a lot to think about, Dad,” Garret said.

“Let’s talk more tomorrow,” Gregory yawned.  “I’m ready to turn in.”

The group was up at daybreak, packing up to move on. 

“This is where the fire was,” the guide pointed out later that afternoon.  “We need to measure the new trees and catalog the plants and grasses sprouting on the forest floor.”

“This is like one big science class field trip!”  Karin grinned, opening her notebook.

“We talked about your idea after you went to be last night and we think it could be a lot of fun,” Garret told his father.

“Let’s learn as much as we can on this trip, then, and we can apply all of it when we get home.”  He gave his son a hearty pat on the back and stood back and watched his family proudly before getting to work himself.

995 words

Writer’s Cramp, January 25-26, 2008:  In 24 hours, write a short story of 1000 words or less or a poem of 40 lines or less following this prompt:  According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002), 2002 was the "International Year of Ecotourism and Mountains." Write a story or poem about an ecotour to the mountains.